Swimming In The Rain
by Heaven Is A Book Shop
Summary: Jem goes swimming in the rain, Tessa questions his sanity. Jem also asks the all important question: "Please may I have my shirt back?" Oneshot


**Swimming In The Rain**

"Jem! Jem!" Tessa cried out in vain from the seashore, the waves lapping at her toes, making her squeal every time her feet were bathed in the salty water. The rain making the shirt borrowed from Jem stick to her body, showing off the swimsuit she wore beneath.

"James Carstairs, you have gone quite mad!"

The dark haired boy just laughed at her. He stood in the sea, the water coming to his waist, watching the brunette start to pace as she stressed about the chill in the air and all the possible illnesses he was probably contracting. Little did Tessa know the sea was quite warm, unlike the rain she was stood in – the same rain, he noticed, that was making his shirt stick to her body.

Jem smiled as called out to his girl on the beach "Tessa?" She looked up at her name; her hair curling around her face. "Please may I have my shirt back?"

Tessa glared at him as she began to shiver. "S-so, _n-now_ you w-want your shirt b-back because you have g-gained back your s-sanity and d-decided that s-swimming in the rain was not your _b-best_ idea." There was a heavy silence between them, Tessa didn't usually snap at _anyone_ in that way, let alone Jem. "I'm sorry," she whispered in a timid voice. "I'm just t-tired… and cold."

Jem started to move towards Tessa, reaching out his hand. "Tessa, I'm fine. The water is warm, I'm not going to contract an illness or drown or be eaten alive by mermaids. It's just swimming."

Tessa stared at his outstretched hand before wrapping her soft fingers around it. They took a few tentative steps into the sea, before Tessa halted like a spooked horse "I c-can't swim." She exclaimed, "I'm 146 years old and I've survived wars and childbirth and h-heartbreak… but I c-can't swim." She soon became aware of how pathetic she sounded; vampires could probably swim better in holy water than her.

Jem began to stroke Tessa's face with his elegant fingers. "You can't swim?"

Tessa didn't make any eye contact; she just stared at her feet submerged in the water as she shook her head, her hair fluttering in the wind and rain. She looked as if she had just been found guilty for some unforgivable crime.

"Then it's about time someone taught you." Before Tessa could react, Jem had wrapped his arms around her waist and put her over his shoulder.

Tessa started to squirm as he moved further out into the ocean. "Jem! What are you doing?"

The boy didn't stop and tried to keep the amusement out of his voice as he politely asked, "Please could you not wriggle so much? I don't think it would be a good idea to drop you, especially seeing as you can't swim."

If anything, this made Tessa fidget more. "James Carstairs! Put me down _now_!"

"Well, if that's what you want."

Tessa braced herself for the freezing water as she plunged into the murky depths, only to find the water was quite enjoyable. However, this didn't help the fact that she couldn't swim and soon found herself in need for fresh air. Before she could panic, two strong arms pulled her up to the surface and pressed her against a firm chest. Tessa glared at Jem, but a smirk gently crept onto her face. "That –" she pointed at his face like she was telling off a small a child "– was a very wicked thing to do, James."

"You did ask me to put you down."

"I didn't mean for you to drop me."

"Shhh… Tessa, calm down." Jem smiled at her. "Just enjoy yourself. Relax."

_Relax._ Tessa slid her arms around Jem's neck and closed her eyes, listening to the rain on the sea as she rested her head on his shoulder. The seawater came up to Jem's chest, and Tessa wasn't sure his feet were even touching the sea bed. His arms were tightly wrapped around her waist; Tessa felt his hands burning through the material of his shirt. She opened her eyes to meet his dark orbs.

"D-do you want your sh-shirt b-back?" She stammered from nerves rather than cold. _The way his shirt is stuck to your body doesn't leave much up to the imagination; it won't make much difference whether it's off or on_, she reassured herself.

"It looks better on you." He leaned in closer – not that there was much room to move closer into.

The kiss was sweet. _Salty sweet_, Jem thought as he smiled against Tessa's soft lips. Jem's hands slid up her body and his fingers entwined themselves in her chocolate-brown curls as he deepened the kiss. He shivered when Tessa's fingers began to tickle the nape of his neck.

The rain poured and the wind howled but the pair in the water didn't seem to notice, they seemed to be in a world of their own. A world with just the two of them.

* * *

Tessa felt Jem running his hands down her bare back. They were back at the small coastal cabin they were staying in. It consisted of barely three rooms, including a tiny bedroom with an equally tiny bed, a bed they just managed to fit the both of them into.

"Jem?" Tessa was the first to break the silence in the still air. It hadn't been an awkward silence, it had just been in the desperate need to be filled with speech.

"Mmm…?"

"How did you know the sea would warm when it rained?"

Jem let out a gentle laugh, "That, my dear, is a _very_ good question." Turning his sleepy gaze to Tessa wide blue-grey eyes, Jem began, "One day, Will and I were in Hyde park in the rain when Will slipped on the wet pavement and landed in the duck pond."

Tessa gasped, "Was he alright?"

"He was fine," Jem chuckled. "I believe he was rather impressed by the fact he managed to scare off a few ducks, too. Anyway, he found the pond water was warm in the rain and tried to persuade me to join him. At first I thought he had gone barking mad and half expected him to start dancing with the ducks, but he assured me he was perfectly sane he tried to attack a duckling with his seraph blade."

"Of course, that sounds _perfectly sane_." Tessa laughed.

"It sounds perfectly like Will."

There was a long silence; both Jem and Tessa missed Will more than a desert missed the rain.

"Well," Jem broke the silence. "Before I could do anything he pulled me into the water with him. And I found that the water was in fact warm. We never knew why."

"You never wanted to find out?"

Jem brushed some hair away Tessa's face. "Funnily enough Tessa, we are not all as inquisitive as you." At the look on Tessa's face he added, "We didn't feel the need to. I suppose, as corny as it sounds, we didn't want to ruin the magic."

Tessa's face crinkled up when she cringed at Jem's cheesy comment.

"I _knew_ I shouldn't have introduced you to television."

"I love you." was Jem's only reply.

Tessa laughed. "I love you, too." She whispered as she lent in for a kiss.

* * *

**A/N: This story has kind of been in my head for about a year, ever since I went swimming in the rain. :)**

**Disclaimer: All characters go to Cassandra Clare.**


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